State Archives: Crown jewels went missing after being returned to Russia

An Irish diplomat who went searching for a portion of the Russian crown jewels 40 years after they were returned to the Soviet Union said he was not able to locate them, recently released state papers reveal.

Documents made public under the 30-year rule show ambassador to the Soviet Union, Tadhg O’Sullivan, wrote to a daughter of Harry Boland after she contacted the foreign affairs department about the jewels.

Eileen Barrington wrote to Gerry Collins, the foreign affairs minister, in 1988 and 1989 asking if he could make official representation to the USSR in helping to trace the jewels.

She said that she and her sister had never seen the jewels and would like to trace them.

The department said its embassy in Moscow was making enquiries.

Her father, Harry Boland, brought the Russian crown jewels back to Ireland from the US in 1920 after they were given as security for a loan of $20,000 to a representative of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic.

State papers show that in a letter dated October 27, 1920, Mr Boland was authorised to give the Russian government $20,000 on condition it was repaid to the “Irish Republican Government”.

The letter was signed by Éamon de Valera.

It emerged that shortly after Mr Boland handed the jewels over to Michael Collins, Mr Collins threw the Romanov jewels, which had been seized in the 1917 revolution, back to Mr Boland across a table and was reported to have said: “Take them to hell out of that — they are blood-stained anyway.”

The jewels were kept at the Boland family home until they gave them to Mr de Valera on November 18, 1938.

They remained a closely-guarded secret for some 28 years, with the public and many politicians only becoming aware the Government had them during the 1948 general election.

After requesting information as to their whereabouts, Mrs Barrington was told by Mr O’Sullivan in June 1988 that he had visited the Kremlin armoury, which included certain imperial regalia, but that he had not seen anything resembling the jewels described in the papers.

She was advised to keep visiting the Soviet Embassy in Dublin.

“Soviet officials rarely do things to oblige individuals, unless they can see what is in it for them,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“If they thought you were somebody who would be likely to visit Moscow and return to Ireland spreading the gospel about Mr Gorbachev’s policies, you would get great attention.”

State papers also show that the minister for finance considered selling the jewels in 1949.

In a memorandum to the government, it emerged that the jewels were valued by London experts at around £2,000.

A letter dated September 13, 1949, revealed the Irish government returned the four Russian jewels, through the Irish high commissioner in London, after the Soviets repaid their loan of $20,000 by cheque.